I read this post yesterday and was touched and inspired. The author of that blog, which I just discovered, seems pretty awesome, given how much humor she displays despite all the tough things that life threw her way. But I liked the idea of her post, which she herself got from one of her friends. So here is my list of 5 best decisions of my adult life…

1. Following my (2nd) dream and becoming a translator: I always wanted to be a writer. Unfortunately, I also like eating 3 meals a day and I’m too attached to security (and insecure about my talent) to try. I didn’t know what else to do with my life until the day I dreamed (for real, at night, while sleeping) I was a translator. Which reminded me that I had once thought of choosing this career path. So I made it happen and never regretted it. I found a career that I’m good at. It pays my bills, sure, but it also makes me smile. Most days, I’m happy to go to work, which I find is a lot more than many people can say about their job. I feel competent doing it, and it’s just challenging enough while still remaining relatively easy for me. And it doesn’t keep me up worrying all night.

2. Taking a year off: After finishing my degree, I wanted a break. I had gone straight from high school to Cegep and then university. At 22, I had never done anything than go to school and work, never lived away from my parents, never traveled on my own. I wanted to breath and think about my future. From there, so many decisions shaped my future that I can’t list them all. I picked BC as my first choice for the government program I enrolled in. I decided to travel (by myself) to unknown places instead of remaining holed up at home. I decided to stay that extra day in Seattle on Easter weekend, which allowed me to meet Zak on the way back (if I had decided to go home one day earlier than planned, with the friends I had just met, I never would have met him on the bus ride home). I decided to give love a chance when I met him even though I didn’t want to live outside of Québec and he didn’t want to leave BC. All those decisions made it so I could meet the love of my life. The rest is history.

3. Moving into a Coop: When we moved to Vancouver, Zak and I looked at coops, but we were not ready for the commitment. I had just started working full time and I was always tired, I could not imagine adding committee meetings to the mix. Two years later, we took the plunge. Sure, coops carry their share of issues (politics, gossip, work, inefficiency, etc.), but in return, it gave us way more than the cheap rent and secure housing we were initially hoping for. It gave us friends. We now have a whole community of neighbors who help us raise our children. We help each other, watch each other’s kids, visit each other… a whole bunch of people who can lend me an egg or an ear when I need them. I could not imagine raising my children elsewhere while being away from family. I never would have thought it would bring that much good into my life.

4. Coming off the pill: At the age of 29, I had been on the pill for 10 years. Zak and I watched a documentary that linked the pill to breast cancer and it made me wonder if I should quit. We discussed it as a couple. I knew I wanted children, but Zak wasn’t as sure and I knew one thing: if I came off the pill and became pregnant, I would have that child. That was an important thing to factor in when making the decision, and we both had to be on board. I stopped taking the pill in April. And although we used other means of contraception, I was pregnant in November – within 6 months. The arrival of my son was unplanned, but it changed our lives for the better. It made us a real family. It made my husband a wonderful dad. And I love him even more for it.

5. Canceling our cable subscription: I struggled a bit with which decision to put last. I wanted to find something that represented our commitment to an alternative lifestyle. We don’t have a car, we use our bikes as much as we can, we don’t buy our kids branded toys, we ask people not to buy presents at birthday parties, we try to respect the environment as much as possible, and we have no TV. To me, that’s the key. If I had a TV, I’d watch it – and as savvy a consumer as I am, I bet I would want more stuff. Not watching TV gives me more time to play with my children and do all sorts of other, more important things. And it makes it so my son goes out and plays instead of asking to watch a show. Sure, some day it will most likely change, but for now I’m happy like this.

I’m sure this post would be very different in ten years. I should probably revisit it then. If blogging still exists…

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on Friday, September 30th, 2011 at 6:23 am and is filed under Environment, Family life, Miscellaneous.
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